Spray type icemaker



June 4, 1968 A. E. z'vGn-:L 3,386,258

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ATTORNEYS June 4, 196s A. E. ZYGIL' 3,386,258

SPRAY TYPE ICEMAKER Filed Feb. e, 1967 v I v 2 sneetsheet 2 Alfred E. Zygel if/ M ATTORNEYS United States Patent O "ice 3,386,258 SPRAY TYPE ICEMAKER Alfred E. Zygiel, 2510 Hillsboro, Dallas, Tex. 75228 Filed Feb. 6, 1967, Ser. No. 614,121 10 Claims. (Cl. 62-138) ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE The disclosure relates to a spray type icemaking machine which uses a high speed fan for generating and directing water vapor that is to be frozen onto an icemaking surface. The fan is spaced slightly above a water reservoir and in operation directs a line water mist towards an icemaking surface directly over the water resern voir where the water mist is frozen and to eventually make cubes thereon. The ice cubes are released from the icemaking surface by a conventional hot gas defrosting cycle and fall by gravity to an ice bin beneath the water reservoir.

This invention relates to the manufacture of ice, and more particularly to apparatus for rapidly and efficiently producing ice cubes. j

In the past, mechanisms for producing ice in cube form in quantities such as employed in -motels and commercial establishments have ordinarily relied upon an assembly, similar to an ice tray, which contains water in liquid form until frozen, then a release mechanism turns the tray upside down to release the frozen ice cubes. This type of operation is inherently slow because the ice does not immediately start freezing at the beginning of a cycle, but instead the quantity of water making up the entire charge of ice cubes must be rst lowered to the freezing point and the latent heat of solidification removed before the ice cubes start to form. Furthermore, the mechanism necessary for turning the tray or the like over to release the ice cubes is not only bulky and expensive but is subject to mechanical failure. To avoid the necessity for a mechanical turn-over mechanism, various devices have been used to freeze ice on the underside of a plate or grid, but the ice produced by these methods is not acceptable in that it is in sheets or shallow squares, and also the cycle time for the apparatus is rather long due to the ways the water is applied, i.e., in sheets draining down a tilted plate, etc. Also these devices have exhibited some rather critical operating characteristics related to water temperature, quantity of water supplied, etc.

It is therefore the principal object of this invention to provide a unique mechanism which manufactures ice in cube form rapidly without relying upon complex mechanical structures for release of the ice after it is frozen. Another object is to provide an ice manufacturing machine which is simple and inexpensive to produce yet which exhibits an unusually fast cycle time with a minimum of mechanical moving parts.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of this invention, apparatus for producing ice cubes is provided which does not require the cooling at one time of an entire charge of water such as would produce the completed ice cube, but instead the mold in which the cubes are frozen is mounted face down and the water is supplied in the form of a vapor mist of very fine particles which freeze immediately upon contact with the walls of the mold. This mold is referred to as a platen herein, and may advantageously be a molded or cast block containing an array of cooling tubes imbedded in the sidewalls of each ice cube cavity and through which the refrigerant li-uid is circulated. An important feature is that five prime cooling surfaces may be provided for each cube, that is the four walls and the top of each of the cavities.

3,386,258 Patented June 4, 1968 By prime surface is meant one being directly adjacent to the refrigerant tubes. Preferably, a plurality of such tubes is located adjacent each sidewall of each of the apertures in the mold in which ice cubes are formed so that a maximum of cooling is provided as compared to previous methods. The vapor or mist of fine particles of water is generated at a position below the platen and this vapor is directed along with a stream of air toward the underside of the platen. The vapor may be generated by means of a fan assembly having a multiple number of blades, preferably with blades mounted at different levels whereby water and air picked up by the blades will be struck by other blades and mixed into very ne particles, forming a vapor. The fan assembly is rotated at a very high rate of speed to insure the generation of a ne mist as distinguished from a spray of water. The refrigeration means used to circulate refrigerant through the tubes in the platen ordinarily would include a control arrangement for supplying heated gas rather than cooled fluid to the tubes to release the cubes of ice after they have been frozen. The ice cubes then fall down by gravity on to a screen, then to an ice storage compartment located below the housing or remote from the mechanism. To prevent the ice cubes from coming into contact with the vaporizer or fan assembly, or from falling into the water reservoir, an ice slide, which may be a screen or an expanded metal panel, is positioned within the housing between the vaporizer and the underside of the platen, the ice slide of course being sloped at a given angle. A baliie arrangement is included within the housing to allow the released ice cubes to fall downward into the ice storage compartment but yet prevent the stream of air bearing the mist of water particles from entering the ice storage compartment or the area outside a direct path between the vaporizer and the underside of the platen. The baille arrangement is shaped so that water precipitated onto the side walls of the housing is directed back into the water reservoir and is not allowed to fall down into the ice storage compartment.

It will be noted that the icemaking machine according to this invention, as generally outlined above, permits the freezing of ice to begin at once since the entire charge of water need not be cooled before freezing starts. Instead, the mist will freeze immediately upon contacting the platen, starting to build up cubes of ice. Also, only a small quantity of water is stored in the reservoir, additional water being metered into the water reservoir in direct proportion to the freezing of water into ice. Cooling of excess water is not possible with this system. Also, it will be understood that no mechanical motion of any of the structural parts of the apparatus is needed to release the cubes, store them, and begin a new cycle.

The novel features believed characteristic of this invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, as well as further objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood by reference to the following detailed description of a specific embodiment, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is an elevation view in section of the icemaking apparatus of this invention, taken along the line 1-1 in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 2 is an elevation view in section of the apparatus of FIGURE 1, taken along the line 2 2 in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a pictorial view, partly in section and partly broken away of the platen assembly used in the apparatus of FIGURES 1 and 2;

FIGURE 4 is a detail view of a portion of the underside of the platen in FIGURES 1-3;

FIGURE 5 is an elevation view in section of the fan 3 vapor generating assembly used in the apparatus of FIG- URES l and 2;

FIGURES 6 and 7 are plan views of fan blades used in the fan assembly of FIGURE FIGURES 7a and 7b are detail sectional views of the blades of the fan of FIGURE 7, taken along the lines 7a-7a and 7b--7b; and

FIGURE 8 is a Schematic representation of the refrigeration apparatus used with the machine of FIGURES 1 4.

Referring now in particular to FIGURES 1 and 2, apparatus is shown for manufacturing ice cubes in accordance with a specific embodiment of this invention. This apparatus utilizes a platen assembly 10 which is an important feature of the invention and which will be described in detail below. This platen 1b includes a matrix of tubing for the circulating refrigerant, as will be explained, and defines in its lower face a large number of apertures 11 shaped or molded according to the desired form of the ice cubes to be manufactured. The water from which ice is frozen in the holes or cavities 11 is supplied from below the platen in the form of :a very fine mist or fog by means of a vaporizing arrangement which may include a fan assembly 12 as will be subsequently described. The fan is driven at a very high rotational speed by an electric motor 14 mounted on the top of the assembly. The fan assembly 12 generates a line mist of water particles, as distinguished from a spray, lfrom a small quantity of water maintained in a shallow pan 15 at a level 16, the water being maintained at this level 4by a supply arrangement including an inlet tube 17 along with a iiat valve arrangement 18 of conventional form which receives a supply from a supply line 19. It is important to note that the quantity of water contained in the assembly for freezing a charge of ice cubes is very small and is metered into the pan 15 in direct proportion to the freezing of the ice. This permits the cycle time necessary to freeze one charge to be quite short. To maintain the quantity of water in the unit at any one time at a low volume, the pan 15 is made narrow at the bottom but yet flares out much Wider at its top edge to catch any water which might precipitate on surfaces other than in the apertures 11. To aid in returning excess precipitation into the pan 15, a pair of water bales 20 are provided, one on each side of the unit. It is noted that the lower inside edges of the baffle 20 overhang the outer lips of the pan 15 so that water dripping from the batiies will be returned to the bottom of the pan 15. In order to further assure that the water vapor generated by the fan 12 does not reach the area outside the baties 20, :an inner baie arrangement 21 is positioned in the pan 15. The upper edge of this baille 21 extends to about the same height of the lower edge of the baille 20 whereby there is no straight line path from the fan 12 to the area behind the baliies 20. The inner 'baffle 21 may be composed of a hard thermosetting plastic or the like, the same material which preferably forms the pan 15. Holes 22 are provided at the base of the inner baille 21 to permit the water to enter the central area beneath the fan 12.

During the freezing cycle in operation of the assembly, cubes of ice form in the holes 11 in the platen 10, then When the refrigeration cycle is switched to a heating cycle, the platen is heated slightly and the frozen cubes are released from the holes 11 and fall by gravity down into an ice holder which may comprise a large plastic pan 24, or may be a container located below the housing or a chute going to an ice compartment remote from the housing. An ice screen 25, positioned over and resting on the pan 15 and baille 21, keeps the ice cubes from entering the pan 15 or striking the fan assembly 12. A gap 26 between the lower edge of the baflie 20 and ice slide is just large enough for the cubes to pass through. The ice slide 25 comprises two at sheets of a material such as expanded metal, screen, or the like, positioned in a V-shaped arrangement. Instead of expanded metal, a grill-like arrangement of small metal rods may be used.

It will be noted that the lowerrnost outward edges of the ice slide 25 are just within the outer edge of the pan 15 so that water dripping from the ice slide 25 will still fall in the pan 15.

The icemaking apparatus of this invention as illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2 is contained within an insulated housing which may comprise side walls 28 and 29 along with a back panel 30 and a bottom panel 31. The side walls and back and bottom panels may be made from sheet metal and ordinarily would :be flanged for rigidity and to contain panels 32 of a suitable insulating material. The sheet metal members may be spot welded together to form a rigid housing. A front panel 33 also forms a part of the housing, this panel also being anged and containing a panel 34 of insulating material, it being noted that this front panel is held in place by bolts so that it may be readily removed to gain access to the interior of the assembly. The pan 15 is supported on a pair of angle members 35 which are supported front and back by a pair of angle iron members 36 which would be welded to the back and side panels. If an ice storage pan within the housing is used, access to the ice storage compartment is provided by a door 38, also sheet metal and including an insulating panel, whereby the large tray 24 may slide out to remove the stored ice and then be replaced. A pair of drip rails 39 -are welded to the inside of the front and rback panels 33 and 30, respectively, to direct water precipitating on the front and back panels down into the pan 15. It is noted that the drip rails 39 overhang the outer edges of the pan 15, but yet are high enough to permit the pan 15 to be removed from the housing.

The platen 10, also illustrated in details in FIGURES 3 and 4, is preferably according to this invention a cast unit comprising principally a central block 40. The block 40 is composed of a mixture of heat conductive metal particles and a bonding material such as a thermally Conductive adhesive. The block 40 is cast or molded in the form and shape illustrated along With the tubes which make up the freezing unit. A layer 41 of insulating material is east upon the top of the block 40 to aid in preventing heating of the heat conducting block 40 from the environment. A layer 42 of similar insulating material is provided on the lower side of the platen 10 and this layer 42 functions to prevent freezing of ice in areas on the bottom of the platen other than in the apertures 11. Ice will not be likely to form on the exposed surface of the insulating material 42 because it will not be as cold as the exposed surface of the block 40. Furthermore, it will be noted that at the edges 43 between the holes 11 the insulating layer 42 is rounded and smooth so that water collecting at these areas will tend to drip off rather than hang and freeze. Thus, in addition to the insulating properties of the layer 42, formation of ice in undesired areas is prevented by the form and shape of the layer 42 in the areas 43. j

To provide the short time cycle for freezing a charge of ice cubes in accordance with this invention, it is irnportant that each of the apertures 11 in the platen 10 be surrounded by a maximum of refrigerant tubing. As Will be noted in FIGURES 1-4, the embodiment illustrated provides eight refrigerant tubes closely adjacent each of the apertures 11. By this is meant the provision of two tubes adjacent each side Wall of each of the apertures 11, it being understood of course that each pair of tubes is shared in common with adjacent ones of the apertures 11. The excellent heat conducting property of the block 40 reduces the temperature and removes heat from the bottom or back wall of each of the apertures 11, so, in effect, there are five prime freezing surfaces for each of the apertures 11 or ice cubes. It is of course understood that a truncated cone shaped ice cube could be used instead of the at-sided cube illustrated. Also, it will be noted that refrigerant tubes may be added to traverse the back or uppermost Walls of the cavities 11, although the heat conducting properties of the block 40 make this ordinarily unnecessary.

The refrigerant tubing cast into the block 40 includes a plurality of pairs of tubes 45 running from left to right and a plurality of pairs of tubes 46 running from front to back. All of the lower tubes of the pairs 45 are supply tubes while the top ones are return or suction side tubes. The left hand ends of all the l-ower ones of the pairs 45 are bent up and connected to a supply header 47. This supply header is connected at three or four points to a distributing header 48 which is connected to the refrigerant supply line 49. The supply line 49 of course receives cooled and expanding refrigerant gas from the expansion valve or orifice in the conventional refrigeration system. At the right hand ends, the lower ones of the pairs of tubes 45 are connected by U-shaped segments 50 to the upper ones of these pairs 45 in the next adjacent pair. All 0f the upper tubes of the pairs 45 are connected at the left hand side to a return header 51 which is connected to a return line 52 going to the suction side of the compressor in the refrigeration system. In like manner, all of the lower ones of thepairs 46 are connected at the back side of the block 4i? to a supply header 53 which in turn is connected at three or four points to the distributing header 48. The upper tubes of the pairs 46 are connected at the rear side of the block 40 to the return header 51. Inside the front edge of the block 40, the lower ones of each of the pairs 4-5 are connected by U-shaped segments 54 to the upper tubes in the next adjacent pair 46. Thus, all of the lowermost tubes are the refrigerant supply tubes, thereby being the coldest, and all of the upper tubes are the return tubes. It will be seen that the water precipitating on the interior surfaces of the holes 11 will be exposed to a maximum of cooling action due to the preferred refrigerant tubing configuration as illustrated. Accordingly, very rapid build-up of ice in the interior of the holes 11 will be provided.

Referring now to FIGURE 5, the vaporizer assembly 12 is illustrated in detail. The fan arrangement or vaporizer assembly is mounted on a shaft 56, the lower end 57 of which engages a hole in a bearing member 58 positioned in the bottom of the pan 15. This bearing member S may be composed of Teflon or the like. The upper end of the shaft 56 is coupled to the shaft 59 of the electric motor 14 by a coupling arrangement 60 which permits the shaft 56 to be easily coupled and decoupled from the shaft 59. Thus, the entire assembly including the pan 15, the fan asembly 12, and ice slide 25 may be removed from the interior of the unit for cleaning, etc., and may be readily replaced. The shaft 5'9 'going to the motor 14 passes through a sleeve which is cast into the block 40. The motor 14 is mounted on the top of the platen 10 by a suitable resilient mot-or mounting arrangement 61. At the lower end of the shaft 56 a collar 64 supports two similarly shaped four-bladed fan members 65 and 66. The fau members 65 and 66 are shaped or contoured very similar to one another but of course are mounted as 45 degrees with respect to each other so that in effect an S-bladed fan is provided. A plan view of the fan member 65 is shown in FIGURE 6. The leading, lowermost edge 6-7 of each of the eight blades is just slightly above the level 16 of the water supply and thus the fan assembly draws the water up by suction in a Cyclonic-like action rather than actually engaging the water surface. Above the blades 65 and 66 is positioned a ten-bladed fan 68, a top View of the fan 68 being shown in plan View in FIGURE 7. Every other one of the blades 69 of the fan 68 is shaped as illustrated in detail in FIGURE 7a, while the remaining blades 70 are shaped or contoured as seen in FIGURE 7b. In cornbination the fan assembly 12 functions as a vaporizer to draw the water up by suction along with a large quantity of air and break the water up into minute particles and mix it with the air, and also functions to propel a stream of air containing the water particles upward toward the lower face of the platen where the particles precipitate onto the inner faces of the apertures 11. It will be noted that the vaporizer assembly 12 is rotated at a very high speed, perhaps more than 3,000 r.p.m.

The remainder of the icemaking machine according to this invention, aside from that illustrated in FIGURES l-7, comprises a conventional refrigeration assembly as illustrated inschematic form in FIGURE 8. The supply line 49 is connected through an expansion valve or orifice 71 and through a receiver 72 to the output of a condenser 73. The suction line 52 goes to the input of a compressor 74, the output of which goes to the input of the condenser 73. In order to provide heating of the block 40 to release the ice cubes which have been frozen, an electrical control 73 is provided to operate a normally open solenoid operated valve 76 and a normally closed solenoid operated valve 77 which is located in a shunt path to by-pass the condenser 73. By this arrangement, hot gas can be supplied, rather than cooled liquid refrigerant, thereby heating the platen 10, rather than cooling, in accordance with usual practice. To control the point at which the cycle by-passes, a bimetallic thermostatic control element 78 may be mounted in the insulating layer 41 over the block 40 as seen in FIGURE 1. Due to the insulating material imposed between the thermostatic switch 78 and the block 40 itself, a certain temperature differential will be established, and of course there will be a delay in time between cooling of the block 40 and subsequent cooling of the thermostatic switch 78. Thus, a switch is selected for this purpose which is actuated at a temperature depending upon the size and shape of the platen and insulating layer 41. The hole in the platen 41 into which the switch 78 is mounted may be threaded whereby the switch 78 may be moved closer to or further from the block 4l! to provide a fine control over the length of the freezing cycle. A check valve 79 is located in the line between the receiver 72 and the by-pass line to prevent hot liquid from being pumped backwards into the receiver.

A further control may be provided in the form of a solenoid operated valve in the supply line 19 to shut olf the water supply when the thermostatic switch 78 is activated. Then the fan assembly would continue to force air toward the underside of the platen, but no water mist. This would have a drying effect so that the cubes would have less tendency to stick together.

Instead of using copper tubes for the refrigerant tubing in the molded block 40, holes or passageways through the block may be used to direct the refrigerant. In this manner, the expense of the tubing may be avoided and a closer contact between refrigerant and the walls of the cavities may be provided.

Although the icemaking apparatus of this invention has been described with reference to a specific embodiment, it is of course understood that this description is not meant to be construed in a limiting sense. Various modifications of the disclosed embodiment, as well as other embodiments of the invention, will be apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to this specification. It is therefore contemplated that the appended claims will cover any such modifications or embodiments that fall within the true scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for producing ice comprising a platen mounted at the top of a housing with the underside of the platen defining a plurality of cavities within each of which a cube of ice is formed, means for containing a small quantity of water in said housing beneath said platen, fan means positioned above the surface of the water for vaporizing said water and directing toward the underside of said platen a mixture of air and very small particles of water forming a vapor directed toward the underside of the platen into such cavities, refrigeration means to supply a cooling uid to an array of cooling tubes within the platen, a plurality of such tubes being incorporated in each side wall of each of said cavities whereby said vapor is rapidly frozen upon contacting the side walls of said cavities to build up cubes of ice in such cavities.

2. Apparatus accordi-g to claim 1 wherein said refrigeration means includes means for supplying heated fluid to said tubes to release the cubes of ice, and wherein an ice slide is positioned within the housing between the means for vaporizing the water and the underside of the platen to direct the released ice cubes to an ice storage area but yet permit the mixture of air and water particles to pass through in an upward direction.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 including baille means to permit passage of the released ice cubes in a downward direction to said ice storage area but yet prevent said mixture of air and water particles from entering the ice storage area, the bale means being shaped to direct precipitated water on the interior of the housing back into said means for containing the quantity of water.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the means for vaporizing the water comprises a fan assembly con taining a large number of contoured blades positioned above the surface of the quantity of water and located at more than one level and rotated at a very high rate of speed, whereby water drawn up by the fan assembly in a cyclonic action will 'be broken up into very fine particles and evenly distributed across the underside of the platen.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said platen comprises a molding of heat conducting particles and thermally conductive bonding material.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein said platen has a layer of insulating material on the top and on the underside except in said cavities whereby formation of ice on the underside of the platen is prevented.

7. Apparatus according to claim 1 further including baie means cooperating with said fan means to direct said mixture toward the underside of said platen.

8. Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein the layer of insulating material on the underside and between the cavities is rounded to encourage the release of water therefrom.

9. Apparatus according to claim 1 further including means for maintaining the water at a desired level below said fan means.

10. Apparatus in accordance with claim 2 further including control means responsive to the temperature at a selected point within said platen for controlling said refrigeration means to supply heated iluid to said tubes.

References Cited UNTED STATES PATENTS 2,555,271 5/1951 Jauch et al. 239-214 2,722,110 11/1955 Denzer 62-347 2,949,019 8/1960 Roberts 62--347 3,289,430 `12/l966 Dedricks et al. 62-188 ROBERT A. OLEARY, Primary Examiner.

W. E. WAYNER, Assistant Examiner. 

